Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Co-ACC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Champions

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Led by individual ACC titles by sophomore Adams Abdulrazaaq and senior All-American Yemi Ayeni and 11 all-conference performances throughout the weekend, the Virginia men’s track and field team finished tied with Florida State - the reigning conference champions - for first at the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships at Cobb Stadium on the University of Miami campus Saturday. The shared title marks the first time since 1982 that two teams have been crowned conference champions, while it is the Cavaliers' best-ever program finish and the first-ever men's conference title in an outdoor season.

“Our conference championship has a proud tradition of great performances and we’re honored to be champions with such a tremendous program as Florida State,” head coach Jason Vigilante said. “Our team competed with integrity and with heart, and I’m so proud to coach all of these young men. It’s a great day for our University and for the track and field program.”

Virginia and Florida State both finished with 141 points to share the lead and were trailed by Virginia Tech’s third-place finish of 130 points.

The women, led by junior Megan Briggs’ individual title on Friday, gathered five All-ACC performances, en route to a fourth-place finish with 74 points. Florida State won the women’s competition with 160 points, while Virginia Tech finished second with 127 points. North Carolina rounded out the top-three with 123 points.

Despite trailing Florida State by 14 points heading into the final day of competition, the Cavalier men put together a dominating performance in the 5000m, led by sophomore Ryan Collins’ runner-up finish in 14:16.28, to take a slim lead over the Seminoles, 135-131, heading into the final event – the men’s 4x400m relay. The quartet of freshman Kevin Anding, Abdulrazaaq, freshman All-American Lance Roller and sophomore All-American Meikle Paschal did all they could to secure a conference championship, making a pass on the final curve to take third in 3:09.32, while Florida State won the event in 3:06.99 to cement the shared title.

Earlier in the day, Abdulrazaaq earned the Cavaliers their first-ever ACC Title in the 110m hurdles by running a personal-best time of 14:16 for top honors, while Ayeni threw 189’ 7” for his third-straight conference title in the discus.

“This was a grand day, truly,” Abdulrazaaq said. “I’ve only been doing hurdles for two years now, so it’s pretty awesome that I have come so far. I ran a PR today and got my first ACC win. Like we always say, you’ve ‘gotta get some’ – you have to work hard to get exactly what you want. Shout out to coach [Adrian] Wheatley and Reuben Jones.”

“It feels great to win this three years in a row,” Ayeni said. “It means a lot to me because it’s my last outdoor ACC Championship. It feels good to leave the title. I see the future and I am happy with it. Our team has been the best I’ve seen so far and I am happy and proud to be a part of it. I look forward to coming back someday and seeing them on top - as we have been this weekend.”

Senior Andrew Jesien started the day for the Cavaliers finishing runner-up in the 1500m in a time of 3:44.43, while senior Kevin Tschirhart finished fourth in the program’s ninth-fastest time of 3:45.66 to bring the Cavaliers 13 points in the event.

Abdulrazaaq then won his 110m hurdles title before Virginia combined for dual all-conference performances in the 800m. Freshman Lance Roller finished runner-up in 1:51.16, while sophomore Andrew Lobb earned his second-consecutive All-ACC honor in the event, finishing in a close third with a time of 1:51.31.

Abdulrazaaq then earned his second all-conference honor of the meet, finishing third in the 400m hurdles in a time of 52.06 and sophomore Marcus Robinson finished third in the triple jump with the program’s fifth-best leap – and best since Cornell Grayson jumped 51’ 0.5” in 1990. He finished with a mark of 50’ 9.25 to qualify for the NCAA East Regionals.

For the women, the Cavaliers racked up 18 points in the discus behind All-ACC performances by seniors All-American Billie-Jo Grant and Caitlin Kelly. Grant finished runner-up with a throw of 166’ 4” to earn her fourth All-ACC accolade in the event, while Kelly threw 165’ 2” for third place for her first all-conference honor. Senior Amy Bilmanis also picked up four points for the Cavaliers in the event, throwing 162’ 5” for fifth place.

On the track, freshman Morgane Gay earned her first all-conference honor with a third-place finish in the 1500m in 4:22.11 – the program’s seventh-best time.

Virginia will return to action next weekend, heading to the prestigious Penn Relays. Events are scheduled to run Friday and Saturday.

2009 ACC Champions
Adams Abdulrazaaq – 110m Hurdles
Yemi Ayeni - Discus
Meghan Briggs – Javelin

2009 All-ACC Performers
Adams Abdulrazaaq – 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, 4x400m
Kevin Anding - 4x400m
Yemi Ayeni – Discus
Meghan Briggs – Javelin
Ryan Collins – 5k, 10k
Steve Finley - Steeple
Morgane Gay – 1500m
Billie-Jo Grant – Discus
Emil Heineking – 10k
Andrew Jesien – 1500m
Tara Karin – Javelin
Caitlin Kelly – Discus
Andrew Lobb – 800m
Meikle Paschal - 4x400m
Marcus Robinson – Triple Jump
Lance Roller – 800m, 4x400m